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Veranstaltung

25.06.2019

14:00 Uhr - 16:00 Uhr | Weizenbaum Institute, Hardenbergstr. 32, 10623 Berlin, Room: C102

Eva-Maria Nyckel: Digital Taylorism’? Algorithms, Data and Governance in the Enterprise Software Salesforce

The practices of algorithmic registering, tracking and controlling through algorithms are continuously expanding in order to make more parameters accessible. In her presentation Eva-Maria Nyckel provides a media-theoretical perspective on Salesforce, a widely used process management system, uncovering some of the epistemological implications lying in the code of Salesforce.

Behavioral patterns and performances of humans are being quantified and processed in order that those processes can be algorithmically controlled. This development can be empirically observed at the ubiquitous use of process management systems in all kinds of organizations. This presentation provides a media-theoretical perspective on Salesforce, a widely used process management system, uncovering some of the epistemological implications lying in the code of Salesforce. It will be debated whether today’s practices of working with digital process management systems to strategically optimize work processes are following on the same epistemological assumptions as in Taylorism, speaking then of a “Digital Taylorism”. In order to investigate the continuities but also the discontinuities or further development of Taylor’s ideas, four categories of epistemological assumptions in Taylor’s Scientific Management will be proposed.

Eva-Maria Nyckel studied Communication and Knowledge Media (B.A.) at the University of Applied Sciences Hagenberg and Media Studies (M.A.) at the Humboldt University of Berlin.